Holah dropped

It's unbelievable to leave this guy out. Then henry has the audacity to say that masoe is an experiment and if it doesnt work out, ah well we've always got holah to fall back on.
If I was Holah I'd say EFF-U and put on a beret, south of france here i come.

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To be fair, Holah missing out wasn't out of the blue. They used So'oialo as a back up 7 during the Lions / 3N as Holah wasn't in the squad, and when he went on tour last year the only game he played was against the Baa Baas. They have been pretty consistent about not picking him.

They have been consistent in not picking him, and I feel, consistently wrong. He is the only backup to the McCaw style of flanker that we have. Masoe is a better back-up for Collins, perhaps even Number 8. He is a power player, and won't win the same amount of ball that McCaw or Holah can.

I really feel sorry for Holah. Almost any other country in the world, he would start in the no. 7 jersey in most games. It really must suck to not get picked at all. Worse than the Marshall/Kelleher thing.

yeh its stupid really...what happened to earning your jersey..its getten cheapened by the year
i thought thats why we have super12s and npcs to develop these players into top class football players....

yes chrio but how do you know if they are good enough at international level unless you pick them on tours. there are no mid week games anymore for when the abs tour or when teams come to nz. there is only one way to find out if player is good enough at international level and that is to pick them on the end of year tour or in the easy tests before the tri nations. holah is very unlucky and would start for most other teams.

well u look at the young guns who have proven there worth ill give a list of those who are considered to be an allblack

nick williams,josh blackie,craig newby,anthony tuitevake,brent ward

when u pick a guy like toeava and say.."well he has potential..and we THINK he will be around that world cup time and he can do this and that.."

what does that say to these players ive mentioned...they dont have potential...and there unlucky?..no such thing as luck

when u pick on form you will build the confidence of those players who have been performing..but they are just throwing yung bucks out there who they THINK can perform when they have sat there all season and watched and KNOW the guys who CAN perform...

im happy with the squad and im happy that they have intrusted in majority of guys who beat the lions..its great they have settled on a team instead of mix matching week in week out...

heres a form team and the squad from lions tourof 35
somerville,haymen,tamoepeau,afoa,woodcock
oliver.mealamu,hore
donelly,williams,jack,ryan
lauaki,mccaw,holah,kaino,masoe,collins,blackie
kelleher,weepu,cowen
mccalister,carter
nonu,mauger,umaga,smith,tuitevake
rokocoko,howlett,sivivatu,gear
ward,mcdonald,muliaina

The day my opinion of Holah changed was the game he played against the P.Is last year. I think the selectors noticed that game as well. Hence why they are looking elsewhere.

No7's are crucial to any teams success.............Waikato and the Cheifs haven't won anything for ages. The selectors if they choose an older experienced No7 won't choose someone that is unlike McCaw (titles), Smith (titles), Waugh (Finalist). MacDonald and Collins are title winners (though I don't like them) and still fairly young. Masoe stood out in an average team. Holah was just his usual self...............didn't shake up the field at all.

masoe carved up in the wellington super12 team...all his undercover work wasnt seeen becoz jerry collins and rodneys running aroun opening up gaps on the fringes and making bighits..whre masoe was supplying them with the opportunity to do so...

with the naki he has been able to express himself fully and he ran amuck on the lions...and got the approval of lord clive woodward

this year he stepped it up and terrorised EVERYTEAM HE PLAYED AGAINST...he played no.8 and basically covered 6 and 7 while doin so...

one thing he did alot of in da past was infringe to the point of a whistle blowing ref..and he has worked on his stealing technique and hasnt been pinged alot as he use to..im happy hes there in tha abz

..however him goin to wellingtons npc team(well if he ain considered for the trinations next season) is only gonna dent his international career coz he will be with collins and rodney again

Betrayed would probably come closest to describing how Marty Holah is feeling right now.

The Waikato flanker has gone to ground at his house in Mount Maunganui to reflect on how it was the New Zealand Rugby Union put an astonishing offer in front of him a few weeks ago, only for the All Black selectors to once again tell him he was no longer wanted.

It's easy to see why Holah is feeling the way he is. He was off contract at the end of the year and had attracted the attention of a number of European clubs.

According to friends, the 29-year-old knew his opportunities at test level would be limited as long as the imperious Richie McCaw continued to draw breath.

Given his age, Holah also knew that it was now or never in terms of going overseas. European clubs would pay top dollar for a 29-year-old current All Black. The price would drop significantly if they were buying a 31-year-old former All Black.

But Holah didn't want to fully explore his options elsewhere until he had tried to nut out a deal with the NZRU.

His agent made contact and said Holah was keen to stay, would the NZRU like to tender an offer?

The reply was an emphatic "yes" and a generous contract was put in front of Holah. He had no hesitation signing, believing he was still very much in the test frame.

He knew there was no guarantee he'd be taken away to the UK. But he'd been recalled to the squad before the end of the Lions series and was retained for the Tri Nations.

The experiment of using Rodney So'oialo as a back-up openside had been shelved. It seemed the selectors had concluded that specialist cover was in fact necessary after all.

That change of heart and a few positive noises were enough to persuade Holah he was doing the right thing putting pen to paper.

And then last week his phone rang. It was the same dreaded "Look Marty, we've got some bad news," call he had received before the squad for the Lions series was announced.

It had been a tight call but Chris Masoe, not Holah, would be going to the UK. If it had been a straightforward case of hearing how Masoe was the number two openside behind McCaw, it would have made life easier for Holah. He could swallow that, live with the fact his income would be reduced by a third as a consequence, and move on. That wasn't the message, though. There was no suggestion he was doing anything wrong and no directive to improve specific aspects of his game.

They just wanted to try something else and had Holah's number in case they changed their minds.

Holah is now sensing that he is a rainy day All Black - a reliable and trusted performer who can be called in at short notice if the preferred alternatives somehow fall down.

It's maybe taking him for granted. The thinking seems to be that because Holah has committed to New Zealand for another two years and wants to honour that contract, if a few more test caps come his way, he'll take them for sure.

But the question is - and it is a question Holah didn't want to answer this week - how long before he tires of a yo-yo All Black existence and starts thinking a move overseas wouldn't be so bad after all?

Maybe that day will never come. Maybe it will come after the Super 14 next season or the NPC. One thing is for sure, though - if Holah does seek an early release, it won't be to a chorus of dismay.